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Labor Day homicides: Suspect in two 2012 shooting deaths in court today to hear evidence against him

61st District Court Judge Benjamin Logan arraigns Michael Norris by video on Monday, July 15, 2013. Norris is charged with open murder in a double homicide on Labor Day 2012.
(Emily Zoladz | Mlive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – With the wall of silence cracked, Michael Tarris Rashad Norris will be in court today where prosecutors could present evidence to show he committed a double-murder on Labor Day.

Norris stands accused of two counts of felony murder for the Sept. 3 shooting deaths of Felix Romeo Reyes-Santos, 45, and Alvaro Carrillo-Menendez, 22, near Burton Street and South Division Avenue.
Facing a perjury charge with a potential penalty of life in prison, 24-year-old Manuel Antonio Rosado told a judge that he was with the 25-year-old suspect about 2 a.m. when Norris declared he was broke and planned to rob three men who were walking nearby with a case of beer.

"He just gradually turned and went toward them," Rosado said during a hearing in December. "I just heard a big bang. That's when I turned around and saw one of the guys go down. The first guy went straight to the ground. The second guy, I believe he tumbled to the street. The third guy I don't know what happened.”

About an hour later on the night in question, police say Norris shot Baldomeo Perez-Perez near Griggs Street and Buchanan Avenue SW in another robbery attempt. Perez-Perez survived.

Last week, Rosado pleaded guilty to three counts of assault with intent to rob while armed as a repeat offender. He is slated to be sentenced by Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald Johnston on Aug. 27.

Grand Rapids investigators say evidence shows Norris did the shooting, but Rosado was present when the crimes occurred.

Norris was originally arrested on a perjury charge, but will be before Grand Rapids District Court Judge Benjamin Logan this morning on two charges of felony murder, three counts of assault with intent to murder and two felony firearms charges.

Norris faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus two years, if he is convicted of the murder and gun charges.

Norris could demand details be presented by the Kent County Prosecutor’s office to show sufficient evidence exists for Logan to send the case to circuit court for felony proceedings. Norris could also waive holding the hearing, which would automatically bind the case over to the higher court.